Obama offers olive branch to billion Muslims

Published on Thursday 4 June 2009 22:03

BARACK Obama called for a "new beginning" in relations between the United States and Islam yesterday in a historic speech to an audience of more than one billion Muslims.

Addressing the world's Muslims from Cairo, the US President also tackled grievances over two American-led wars and tensions over Iran.

He conceded that tension "has been fed by colonialism that denied rights and opportunities to many Muslims, and a Cold War in which Muslim-majority countries were often treated as proxies without regard to their own aspirations".

Mr Obama, who recalled hearing prayer calls of "azaan" at dawn and dusk while living in Indonesia as a boy, went on: "I consider it part of my responsibility as President of the United States to fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they appear."

In his keynote speech, occasionally interrupted by shouts of "we love you", Mr Obama said he did not want US troops to stay in Iraq or Afghanistan "forever" and offered mutual respect in seeking to resolve differences with long-time foe Iran.

"We meet at a time of tension between the United States and Muslims around the world – tension rooted in historical forces that go beyond any current policy debate," he said in the address that included quotes from the Koran.

"I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect. America and Islam are not exclusive, and need not be in competition.

"This cycle of suspicion and discord must end."

But highlighting the hostility the US President faces from some quarters, al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden issued an online warning to Muslims against any alliance with Christians and Jews, saying it would annul their faith.

Also, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said before Mr Obama spoke that America was "deeply hated" and only action, not "slogans" could change that.

But the US President said the actions of violent, extremist Muslims were "irreconcilable with the rights of human beings" and quoted the Koran to make his point: "Be conscious of God and always speak the truth …"

He added: "Islam is not part of the problem in combating violent extremism – it is an important part of promoting peace."

The choice of Cairo for the speech underscored Mr Obama's focus on the Middle East, where he faces big foreign policy challenges, from trying to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks to curbing Iran's nuclear ambition, which Washington says is to build atomic bombs.

His trip included a tour of a 14th-century Cairo mosque with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and a visit to the Pyramids.

He was later seen off at the airport, walking up the red carpet in the T-shirt and trousers he had worn to visit the ancient sites.

Mr Obama, who wants to build a coalition of Muslim governments to back his diplomatic moves, affirmed his commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"I intend to personally pursue this outcome with all the patience that the task requires."

Mr Obama said Palestinians had to abandon violence and urged them to acknowledge Israel's right to exist. He also said Israel should stop building settlements in the West Bank.

Palestinian official Nabil Abu Rdainah said: "President Obama's speech is a good start and an important step towards a new American policy."

Israel responded by saying it shared President Obama's hopes for Middle East peace but its own security interests remained paramount. An official statement made no mention of Jewish settlements nor Palestinian statehood.

Islam praises tone of respect and humility

MUSLIMS around the world praised Barack Obama's address as a positive shift in attitude and tone, though some said they wanted him to turn his words into action.

Fawzi Barhoum, a spokesman for Hamas in Gaza, said there had been a change in tone, but complained that Mr Obama did not specifically note the suffering after the three-week Israeli incursion earlier this year that killed 1,000 Palestinians.

"There is a change between the language of President Obama and previous speeches made by George Bush," Mr Barhoum said. "The statements of today did not include a mechanism that can translate his wishes and views into actions."

Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, whose Fatah group rivals Hamas for leadership of the Palestinians, welcomed Mr Obama's words. "The part of (his] speech regarding the Palestinian issue is an important step under new beginnings," his spokesman said.

"It shows there is a new and different American policy toward the Palestinian issue."

The speech had a mixed message for Israel, and the Israeli government called it "not bad".

Before the address, Muslims had said they wanted to hear respect for Islam.

"It was very good of him to address Muslims by quoting from holy Quran, something I did not expect in his speech," Osama Ahmed Sameh, 45, an Iraqi civil servant, said.

Shahinda al-Bahgouri, a 20-year-old student at Cairo University said: "All we want as Muslims is for there to be a partnership. And he was seriously humble. Humility is important for us."

Zahid Husain Gardezi, 50, a landowner in the Pakistani city of Multan, was pleased by Mr Obama's warmth. "It is the first time I have ever heard such affectionate words from an American for Muslims," he said.

Marjorie Olster

The seven central strands of Cairo address – what he said and what he really meant

ISRAEL AND THE PALESTINIANS

"The United States does not accept the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements."

Israel was invited to 'blink first' in the deadlocked Middle East peace process, with Barack Obama telling it to halt settlement building in the occupied West Bank.

Obama's comments were the clearest signal so far from the White House that President Obama sees the settlements as a key obstacle to re-starting a Middle East peace process. Mr Obama was quick to tie his proposal to a call for the Palestinians and Arab states to recognise the state of Israel.

Of concern to the Obama administration are the construction of so-called Outposts, seen by critics as embryonic settlements designed to spread territory controlled by the Settlers beyond previous borders.

The big question is how far Mr Obama wants Israel to scale back its settlements: A halt to expansion is one thing; dismantling the towns and villages and pulling out, as happened in Gaza in 2005, would be a far bigger step.

TERRORISM

"The sooner the extremists are isolated and unwelcome in Muslim communities, the sooner we will all be safer."

Mr Obama laid out his belief that terrorism is best combated by a combination of tolerance and a recognition that more can be achieved through non-violent protest.

"Violence is a dead end," he said. "This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia; from Eastern Europe to Indonesia."

He reached back to the experience of African Americans to outline how non-violent protest can achieve spectacular results. "For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation," he said. "But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the centre of America's founding."

NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION

"It is clear to all concerned that when it comes to nuclear weapons, we have reached a decisive point. This is not simply about America's interests. It is about preventing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East."

On the issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions, Mr Obama was unequivocal in his opposition, but he sought to portray it in a regional context, saying that Tehran would not find security in building its own nuclear weapons because it would be likely to trigger a wider Middle East arms race.

But Iran's leaders may doubt how practical is his call for all nations to abandon their nuclear arsenals: "I strongly reaffirm America's commitment to seek a world in which no nations hold nuclear weapons."

DEMOCRACY

"You must maintain your power through consent, not coercion; you must respect the rights of minorities, and participate with a spirit of tolerance and compromise."

Mr Obama's appeal for the spread of democracy was always going to be the most delicate part of his Cairo speech, delivered in a state accused by human rights groups of crushing all political opposition.

He said democracy did not depend only on the ballot box, but required a government to follow the rule of law, allow free speech and tolerate opposition.

RELIGION

"I have come here to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world; one based upon mutual interest and mutual respect."

A call for mutual understanding between the United States and the world's 1.5 billion Muslims was the theme running through Mr Obama's Cairo speech. He told his audience that the lack of understanding was the soil in which terrorism was sown.

Several times he referred to the Koran, quoting passages that underlined the value of non-violence. "The Holy Koran teaches that whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind; and whoever saves a person, it is as if he has saved all mankind."

WOMEN'S RIGHTS

"I respect those women who choose to live their lives in traditional roles. But it should be their choice."

An emphasis on women's rights was perhaps the surprise package of the Cairo speech, with Mr Obama urging Middle Eastern states to grant rights and access to education to women.

Few parts of the world draw such criticism as the Middle East for their treatment of women, and the US president insisted that without rights for women, other human rights would be stalled.

ECONOMICS AND DEVELOPMENT

"All of us must recognise that education and innovation will be the currency of the 21st century, and in too many Muslim communities there remains underinvestment in these areas."

Mr Obama's comments were aimed both at Islamic states who suppress the free market and oil states who rely on petro-dollars to support their economies.

He acknowledged the fears of many Muslims that the march of technology can undermine traditional values, but insisted other states had shown how to accommodate advances without losing their values:

"I know that for many, the face of globalisation is contradictory. The Internet and television can bring knowledge and information, but also offensive sexuality and mindless violence," he said.

"There need not be contradiction between development and tradition. Countries like Japan and South Korea grew their economies while maintaining distinct cultures."

Read the full speech here